Sports boots such as ski boots



Sept. 22, 1970 I v. DRAGO 3,529,

SPORTS BOOTS SUCH AS SKI BOOTS Filed July 24, 1968 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 22, 1970 v. DRAGO 3,529,369

SPORTS BOOTS SUCH AS SKI BOOTS United States Patent 3,529,369 SPORTS BOOTS SUCH AS SKI BOOTS Vittorio Drago, Turin, Italy, assignor to Superga S.p.A.,

Turin, Italy, an Italian joint-stockcompany Filed July 24, 1968, Ser. No. 747,214 Claims priority, application Italy, Feb. 21, 1968, 50,608A/ 68 Int. Cl. A4311 US. Cl. 362.5 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a brace for sports boots such as ski boots and to a sports boot including such a brace.

Modern ski techniques demand that a satisfactory boot should allow the leg a limited degree of longitudinal movement, that is to say forward and backward such as is produced by bending of the knee, while nevertheless bracing the leg firmly against sideways movement, particularly at the region of the ankles.

To satisfy these requirements, high quality ski boots generally comprise a rigid sole to which is attached a stiif upper portion including, above the heel, a region of relatively lower stiffness which is deformable to provide, in use, a degree of yield giving the leg the desired freedom for limited longitudinal movement.

The stiff upper portion of the boot which includes conventional means for closure, such as lace or zip closure, normally incorporates a resilient lining or inner shoe which provides the necessary thermal insulation and comfort for the foot. The lining which may comprise foamed plastics or other material optionally including fabric layers, may be sandwiched between an inner and an outer sheath respectively contoured to the shape of the foot and to the shape of the boot. This lining construction enables the lining to be cheaply fabricated to a high standard as a separate item for subsequent introduction into the boot.

It has been found that the deformable region of the boot upper portion, even if carefully designed, does nevertheless reduce the bracing effect of the boot against sideways leg movements. Such reduction in sideways bracing effect becomes more pronounced if the boot incorporates, as is desirable, a resilient lining of the kind hereinbefore described, and it is an object of the present invention to produce a ski or like sports boot having improved bracing against sideways leg movement, and a brace for effecting such bracing.

According to the present invention, a brace for a sports boot such as a ski boot comprises a lower part effective in use of the boot to be securely held against movement by the sole of the boot and having an upper part adapted to engage at least the ankle of a wearer whereby to prevent sideways, leg movement while permitting limited longitudinal leg movement.

The present invention also includes a sports boot such as a ski boot comprising a rigid sole to which is attached an upper portion including suitable means for closure, together with a brace having a lower part effective, in use of the boot, to be securely held against movement by the sole and having an upper part adapted to embrace at least the ankle of the wearer whereby to prevent sideways leg movement while permitting limited longitudinal leg movement.

3,529,369 Patented Sept. 22, 1970 In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the brace comprises, at its lower part, a rigid U-shaped member, for example of steel, hard rubber or synthetic fibre or resin material, the base of which is shaped to engage and to be securely held against the inner surface of the sole by pressure exerted by a foot in the boot. In the case where the boot incorporates a resilient inner lining, the base of the U, which as part of the inner surface of the sole is flat, is arranged to lie between the lining and the sole. The upper part of the brace may comprise rigid pads which are secured to the limbs of the U-shaped member, for example by rivetting and which are contoured to embrace the leg, preferably in the region of the ankle so as to brace it against sideways movement while providing limited freedom of longitudinal movement. The pads suitably are arranged evenly to distribute pressure over a wide area of the leg.

Conveniently, the outer surface of each upper part includes means providing adherence to the inner surface of the boot upper. In one embodiment, the means providing adherence comprise material having projecting prehensile bristles which are arranged to engage similar bristles provided on the adjacent inner surface of the boot upper. Sutiable bristle material is that sold under the trade name Velcro.

An embodiment of the invention will now be particularly described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a ski boot incorporating a brace according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the separate lining on which the brace is fitted at the ankle region;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views on lines I"II-III and IV-IV of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the brace.

Referring to the drawings, the ski boot shown comprising a stiff upper portion 1, preferably made of rubber or plastics, connected to a rigid sole 2 made of the same or similar material. The upper itself, which is totally deprived on its inside of paddings for heat insulation or for comfort of the wearer, is provided with conventional means 3 or closure on the front or on one side. A separate lining or inner shoe 4 is placed into the upper, and comprises in a manner known per se, a layer of soft insulating material enclosed between an inner and outer sheath shaped to confer to the padding the form of an inner shoe adapted to be inserted into the upper 1 of the boot. The upper 1 includes, in a manner known per se, at a region overlying the heel, a region 5 which is relatively less stiff than the remainder of the upper and is deformable to permit limited longitudinal leg movement.

A brace 6 for insertion into the boot in proximity to the heel region and between the sole and the inner sole, comprises a U-shaped member made of steel plate, hard rubber, synthetic fibre or resin of suitable type, having secured to the limbs 7 and 8 of the U, such as by means of rivets 9, pads 10 preferably made of a stiff synthetic material. The pads 10 are contoured to receive or embrace the wearers ankle, preferably over an area which distributes pressure uniformly over a wide area.

Strips 11 comprising prchensile bristles are secured to the outer surfaces of the pads 10' and are effective to inter engage similar strips 12 secured to the inner face of the upper 1 of the boot. The use of these strips made of material known by the trade name Velcro maintains the pads safely in position during insertion of the inner lining or shoe 4 into the stiff upper of the boot.

The use of the above-described brace 6 stiffens the upper of the boot and the leg against sideways movement and causes the pressures exerted between the lining and upper to be more uniformly distributed over the leg to the great relief of the wearer. The wearer is moreover free to use the same boot with or without the brace according to his personal requirements and conditions of skiing.

It will be understood that the embodiment as disclosed may be widely varied without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A brace for a sports boot such as a ski boot comprising:

a lower part having a region shaped to engage the sole of the boot and in use to be held against movement by the sole;

an upper part adapted to embrace at least a wearers ankle in the boot whereby sideways leg movement is prevented while limited longitudinal leg movement is permitted; and

means providing adherence to the boot upper comprising prehensile bristle material eflective to engage similar bristle material provided on an adjacent surface of the boot upper.

2. A brace according to claim 1, in which the bristle material is that sold'under the trade name Velcro.

3. A brace for a sports boot such as a ski boot comprising:

a lower part having a region shaped to engage the sole of the boot and in use to be held against movement by the sole;

an upper part adapted to embrace at least a wearers ankle in the boot whereby sideways leg movement is prevented while limited longitudinal leg movement is permitted, the upper part comprising pads respectively contoured to embrace opposite sides of a wearers leg and having means providing adherence to the boot upper on the outer Surface of each pad.

4. A brace according to claim 3, in which the means providing adherence comprise prehensile bristle material provided on an adjacent surface of the boot upper.

5. A brace according to claim 4, wherein the bristle material is that sold under the trade name Velcro.

6. A ski boot for skiing comprising:

an outside shoe,

closure means on the outside shoe,

a resilient inner shoe adapted to fit inside the outer shoe and completely covering the internal surface of the outside shoe, and

a rigid stiffener located between the inner and outer shoes in the heel region of the boot, the rigid stiflener covering a major portion of the side ankle regions of the boot while leaving the front and back portion of the boot open to permit longitudinal movement.

7. A ski boot as claimed in claim 6, where the base of the rigid stiffener is U-shaped and the upper portion is approximately a parabolic portion of a cylinder for distributing the pressures exerted between the outside shoe and the inner shoe over a wide area.

8. A ski boot as claimed in claim 7, where the rigid stifiener is a synthetic material.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 487,492 12/1892 Pugsley 362.5 X 1 1,205,206 11/1916 Hofmeister 36-25 1,549,382 8/1925 Riddell 36-25 3,327,410 6/1967 Park et a1. 36-2.5 3,362,091 1/ 1968 Drago 36-25 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner 

